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Emma Bunton
}} | occupation = Singer • songwriter • actress • radio presenter • television presenter • media personality | years active = 1994–present | partner = Jade Jones (1998–present) | twitter = @EmmaBunton | instagram = @emmaleebunton | facebook = EmmaBuntonOfficial | snapchat = | website = emmabuntonofficial.co.uk/}} Emma Lee Bunton (born January 21, 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and television presenter. She is best known as a member of the girl group, the Spice Girls, as "Baby Spice". Early life Emma Lee Bunton was born on January 21, 1976 in Finchley, London, England, to Pauline and Trevor Bunton. Her parents were split up when she was 11, and she stayed with her mother. She has a younger brother named Paul James. Career 1994–2000: Spice Girls In 1994, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, and Victoria Beckham responded to an advertisement in The Stage magazine. All four were originally chosen as the members of the group, along with Michelle Stephenson, but was finally replaced with Emma Bunton. In October 1994, the group began touring management agencies. In March 1995 they parted with Heart Management, and signed with Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment. During the summer of that year the group toured record labels in London and Los Angeles with Fuller and finally signed a deal with Virgin Records in September 1995. On 8 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. The song reached number 1 in 35 countries, becoming the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time. In 1999, she recorded "(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind" for the film Pokémon: The First Movie. In 2000, after the release of their third album, Forever, charted at number two in the UK. 2001–2002: A Girl Like Me Emma Bunton's first solo album, A Girl Like Me, was released in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2001. It debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with 21,500 copies sold in its first week. On September 7, 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies, becoming the 147th best-selling album in the United Kingdom for 2001. 2003–2006: Free Me Losing her contract with Virgin due to poor sales, Bunton signed a new deal with 19 Recordings, run by former Spice Girls' manager Simon Fuller, to release her second album, Free Me. It debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart and being certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 2006–2008: Life in Mono and Spice Girls reunion In October 2006, Bunton was a contestant in the BBC programme Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Darren Bennett. She finished third place in the semi-final. In November 2006 her third studio album, Life in Mono, was released. In 2007, the Spice Girls re-grouped and announced plans to tour as a quintet for the last time for a The Return of the Spice Girls. The group released their first-ever compilation album, a collection of their Greatest Hits and went on tour in December 2007. 2010–2017: Spice Girls musical and Boy Band Judy Craymer teamed up with the Spice Girls and Simon Fuller and began to develop a Spice Girls musical entitled Viva Forever. They did not star in the show themselves, but had an influence in the production and show's cast. On June 26, 2012, all five Spice Girls were in attendance at a press conference in London to promote the launch of Viva Forever: The Musical. After poor reviews from critics and "a loss of £5 million", the show has its final performance on 29 June 2013. From June-August 2017, Emma was the judge on ABC's reality singing competition show Boy Band for the first season. Along with Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter and record producer Timbaland, they decide which two boys will be up for elimination in each episode until the top eight will be voted by American audiences to become the final five-piece boy band. 2018–present: My Happy Place In November 2018, Emma signed a record deal with BMG Rights Management and was preparing a new album. On February 27, 2019, she released the first single of the new album called "Baby Please Don't Stop". In April 2019, she released her fourth album, My Happy Place. Radio Filmography Television Film Discography Main article: Emma Bunton discography * ''A Girl Like Me (2001) * Free Me (2004) * Life in Mono (2006) * My Happy Place (2019) Tours * Live in Concert (2001) * Free Me Tour (2004) Awards and nominations References Category:People Category:Actors Category:Singers Category:Songwriters